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The ‘change agent’ takes charge

The best way to understand Donald Trump’s astonishing electoral victory is to look at the public interest and excitement surrounding his inauguration.

Imagine if Hillary Clinton had won the election: would her upcoming assumption of power have generated this level of interest and controversy? If we were counting down the days to a Clinton-Kaine presidency, the nation might not feel terrified, but we’d definitely feel bored. Hillary lost because she promised no meaningful change from the dysfunctional excesses of the Obama years.

Enough voters in key states wanted something profoundly different — a change agent who would shake things up. They cared more about shattering the rules of political correctness than about shattering glass ceilings.

Trump, so far, is giving them what they wanted — a style of leadership that’s unpredictable, unconventional, maybe a bit unsteady and impulsive but never, ever dull. Whether or not the new President “makes America great again” he’s already made politics exciting again.